{"product_id":"routes-to-a-nation-national-postal-museum-9781588348241","title":"Routes to a Nation: The Post Office in the Colonies and Early United States","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis richly illustrated volume evokes the early history of the US postal system with 130 new full-color images of artifacts and historical documents from the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTravel back to the postal system's humble origins in colonial America with \u003ci\u003eRoutes to a Nation, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich traces the development of the post from trans-Atlantic communication through the Revolutionary War and follows its growth as the nation expanded through the 18th and early 19th centuries. The story of the network's early days emerges from the 130 all-new high-quality photographs of letters, covers, seals, newspapers, stamps, and other artifacts, including many rarely seen archival images from the National Postal Museum's collections. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom colonists resisting a postal network to the taxation debates of the early republic, the fledgling postal service was often entangled with its era's hot-button political issues. This book illuminates the postal system's role in the larger process of nation-building, as well as its impacts on the lives of the ordinary people who sent, received, and delivered the mail that fostered communication, facilitated trade, and connected communities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMail carriers who completed the first postal routes across treacherous terrain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFolded letters that offer first-hand accounts of 18th century life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBen Franklin's tumultuous decades as colonial deputy postmaster general, marked by administrative reform and political conflict\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMail that helped keep the patriot's military informed during the Revolutionary War\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitics of the post in the early republic: freedom of expression in newspapers, debates in financing expansion, and handling diplomatic channels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRoutes to a Nation\u003c\/i\u003e explores the personalities, controversies, and planning that shaped the continent-spanning postal system that has grown to provide service tomore than 169 million addresses across every state, city, and town in the United States today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e National Postal Museum\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1588348245\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781588348241\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Smithsonian Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs","brand":"National Postal Museum","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48443264139519,"sku":"9781588348241","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9664d538-9245-4244-8ed6-43110cd87c55.jpg?v=1777204346","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/routes-to-a-nation-national-postal-museum-9781588348241","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}